Signs and Symptoms of Feeding Disorders
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Sensory Processing Difficulties As it Relates to Feeding
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Decreased tolerance for smells: food or environmental
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Inability to tolerate the sound of chewing or crunching
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Decreased/heightened sensation of food in or around the mouth
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Only eats certain food groups/textures/brands
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Something about the way food looks, tastes, smells or feels is overwhelming or uncomfortable to a child
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Unable to stay seated during mealtimes
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Increase in behaviors like hiding, leaving the table, avoiding cafeteria
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Overstimulated by sounds, visual stimulation in the environment or during mealtime
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Motor Difficulties as it Relates to Feeding
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Atypical posture (congenital or compensatory)
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Kyphosis, scoliosis
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Contratures, splints
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Hyperextension of trunk, neck, head
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Poor muscle tone that impacts stability and resting posture
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Neurological conditions like Cerebral Palsy
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Decreased tolerance for tummy time
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Fine motor delays like hand to mouth skills
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Visual deficits
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Disruptions in swallowing can occur at any or all phases and can vary based on the phase(s) affected and the child's age/developmental level:
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Back arching
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Coughing and or choking during or after swallowing
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Difficulty chewing foods that are textually appropriate for age (may spit out, retain, swallow partially chewed food)
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Difficulty initiating swallowing
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Difficulty managing secretions (including non-teething-related drooling of saliva)
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Disengagement/refusal shown by facial grimacing, facial flushing, finger splaying, or head turning away from food source
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Frequent congestion, particularly after meals
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Frequent respiratory illnesses
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Gagging
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Loss of food/liquid from the mouth when eating
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Noisy or wet vocal quality during and after eating
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Taking longer than 30 minutes to finish a meal or snack
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Delayed development of a mature swallowing or chewing pattern
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Noisy breathing
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Signs and Symptoms of Oral Dysfunction & Ties
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Shallow latch
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Difficulty staying latched
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Sensitive gag
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Milk dribbling from corners of mouth
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Biting or chomping on nipple
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Milk tongue (white coating)
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Gulping/Air swallowing
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Clicking or squeaking noises with feeding
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Coughing/choking during feeding
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Lip blisters
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Fussy feeding
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Poor weight gain
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Breast preference/refusal
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Poor endurance or falling asleep
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Always seems hunger
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Breast/bottle feeding lasts >30 minutes
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Bottle or pacifier refusal
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Causing nipple pain or damage
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Recurrent plugged ducts or mastitis
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Low milk supply
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Gassy
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Reflux
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Colic
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Open mouth posture at rest
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Difficulty accepting solids at 6-7 months
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Difficulty progressing to soft solids by 8 months
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Unable to drink from an open cup or stry by 12-18 months
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Limited repertoire of foods
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Difficulty moving/chewing food
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Frequently spitting foods out
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Frequemntly overstuffing mouth
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Gagging or vomiting
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Etended mealtimes (>30 minutes)
If your child is struggling with any of the above symptoms call to schedule with us today.
Signs and Symptoms of Speech/ Disorder
Children:
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Sings of a Language Disorder
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Does not smile or interact with others
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Does not babble (4-6 months)
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Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like reaching (7-9 months)
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Does not understand what other say (10 months - 2 yrs)
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Says only a few words ( 19 months -2 years)
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Does not put words together to make sentences (19 months - 3 years)
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Speaks using words that are not easily understood by others (3-4 years)
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Has trouble with early reading skills, like pretending to read or finding the front of a book (4-5 years)
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Signs of a Speech Disorder
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Says p, b, m, h and w incorrectly in words (2-3 years)
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Says k, g, f, t, d, and n incorrectly in words (3-4 years)
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Produces speech that is unclear, even to familiar people (2-3 years)
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Signs of Stuttering (Disfluency)
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Repeats firs sounds of words - "b-b-b-ball" for "ball"
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Stretches sounds out - "ffffff-farm" for "farm"
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Shows frustration when trying to get words out
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Signs of a Voice Disorder
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Loss of voice
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Uses a hoarse or breathy voice
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Speaks with strain and effort
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Adults:
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Signs of Speech and Language Disorders
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Has problems saying sounds correctly
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Uses slurred or slowed rate of speech
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Has problems coordinating mouth or speech movements
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Has difficulty imitating speech sounds
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Struggles to get out sounds or words
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Repeats sounds, words, or parts of words
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Experiences changes in voice (e.g. hoarse, raspy, breathy, nasal, or low volume voice)
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Has trouble thinking of the words they want to say
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Has problems expressing what they want or need
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Speaks in short, fragmented phrases
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Says words in the wrong order
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Has trouble following directions or conversations
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Has difficulty understanding what others say
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Has new-trouble reading, writing, spelling or using numbers
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Social Communication
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Can use language for different reasons: greeting, informing, demanding, promising, requesting
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Changes language for the listener or situation: communicating differently to a baby than to an adult, giving more information appropriately, knowing when to skip details that aren't related, communicating differently in public vs in home.
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Following rules for conversations and storytelling: taking turns, changing topics, staying on topic, saying something differently if someone doesn't understand, proximity awareness, facial expressions and eye contact.